Super Hornet Interview by Leonard "Viking1" Hjalmarson
	Almost exactly one year ago we did an interview on DI's Super Hornet. Since then there has been a good deal of ordnance under the bridge! Recently we had a chance to see and feel Super Hornet in operation at E3 in Los Angeles. For some reason, however, different writers came away with different understandings of the campaign structure. Furthermore, we were uniformly impressed by the most detailed carrier ops yet modeled on the PC. In an effort to clarify the information we had collected, and curious about the modeling of carrier ops, we fielded an interview to the Producer and this is the result. Super Hornet Q: Tell us about the campaign system. How is it structured? The Campaign option is a sub-set of the Command Game option. In other words, the campaigns are mini-Command games. In Command, the objective will be to get the enemy to surrender. In Campaign, the objective will be much simpler - eg to capture an airfield or military base. The number of missions required to achieve the Command objective will be considerably more than for a Campaign. Also, Campaigns are totally computer generated, whereas the Command games may be computer generated or designed by the player, or a combination of the two. Super Hornet Escort Q: I understand that the campaign is "fully dynamic." Could you define that for us? The progress of both Campaign and Command games will depend upon the success or failure of attempts by both allied an enemy forces to achieve their objectives, The outcome of each mission will directly impact the starting conditions for the next mission. We use the term “fully dynamic” to describe the fact that no missions are pre-scripted. Q: What level of integration will we see between the ground and air war? Total. Q: If I hit a bridge on a supply route, what impact will that have on the enemies ability to prosecute the war? And how long will the bridge stay down? It depends upon whether or not the enemy can find an alternative supply route. If it can’t, then the supply route will be severed, supplies will not get through, front line forces will run out of ammunition etc. The length of time a bridge stays down is based on the sides current situation and its ability to make repairs. Click to continue		Check Six! Q: If an enemy strike force hits a major supply route of mine, will my ability to fight be affected in the same way? Yes. Q: Do you model Ground Control Intercept networks? Aircraft flying Combat Air Patrol missions are supplied information by the air defence network. Q: I understand that there are three levels of involvement for mission planning. Tell me about strategic mission planning relative to the intelligence and planning abilities in Super Hornet. Run me through mission planning at the detailed level where I as a player have full control. Carrier Ops This a BIG question and would take several pages to answer fully. Briefly, all allied and enemy installations are categorised as strategic or tactical. Intelligence can provide a limited amount of information and assessment of the importance of each target and will prioritise accordingly. The player may select computer assistance to design missions for both himself and/or or aircraft. At the most detailed level, the player has full planning control for all aircraft missions, targets, routes etc. Q: The carrier ops we saw at E3 were stunning. We saw around ten men on deck, each doing their particular task. How many positions are actually modelled and in what detail? What will we see these guys doing? The deck crew can execute a wide variety of standard different hand signals in order to guide the player around the deck (typically from lift to catapult). The shirt colour signifies the responsibility of each deck crew member. For example the aircraft handling officers and plane directors both wear yellow, these personnel provide your main steering cues as you move around the deck. Go to Page Two
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